Ancient Sardinians had a saying: Chie hat pane, mai no morit (who has bread, will never die). This is true for most of the world. Pane Carasau is one of the ancient breads they were talking about. You can imagine the ancients making this bread because of its long storage capabilities and portability.

It is a a very thin flat bread--some might call a cracker--that was traditionally made for shepherds by the housewives to carry with them for long months on high pastures with their flocks. They can be eaten with sausage and cheese, or dipped in milk to re-hydrate for colazione and drizzled with honey or jam. Pane Frattau is a soup made with shards of Pane Carasau, meat, eggs, cheese and tomato. Modern Sardinian chefs are also using pane carasau in their recipes, for instance, carasau lasagna.

The tedious method by which is is made creates a thin, crispy bread that will last literally for months, even if it happens to crack into shards along their travels. There are some who refer to this flatbread as carte della musica (music sheets) because of its thinness.

The dough itself is fairly simple: durum wheat, yeast, water and salt. It's rolled into extremely thin rounds and baked in a wood oven until the bread puffs up like a balloon, then quickly (with dexterity, not to get steam-burned) cut into two halves, making it even thinner. They are then toasted again in the oven and dried completely. Nowadays, in Italy you might even come across packaged Pane Carasau in supermarkets.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Cups Semolina Flour (Durham)

1 teaspoon, Active Dry Yeast

1 1/2 Cups Warm Water (Approximate, depending on humidity)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

The best results are achieved in a wood pizza oven, but you can use a baking steel (this holds heat better than a baking stone). Place the steel on the bottom rack (with all others removed) in an oven, the preheat to its maximum temperature (typically 550 F). If you want to use a baking stone, the cook time will be slightly shorter. You might also benefit by having a thin, metal pizza peel to remove your pane carasau from the oven.Directions

Place the baking steel into your oven and preheat to maximum temperature.

In a 2 cup measuring cup or small bowl, dissolve the yeast, sugar and all the water, then proof for about 15 minutes.

In a stand mixer, at first combine the all-purpose flour with salt.

Mixing on low speed, add the yeast mixture to the flour.

Mixing at a low speed, add 1/4 cup at a time of the bread flour until the dough climbs the dough hook, then knead briefly into a smooth ball on a lightly floured surface.

Place into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp, cotton kitchen towel until doubled.

Knead the dough for a second time on a lightly flowered surface for 2-3 minutes, them place back into the bowl for one more hour.

Place the dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and cut into four equal pieces.

Roll each into a long cylinder about 2'3" thick, then cutting each into small segments, each one about the side of a small dinner roll.

With cupped hands, roll each segment into a ball shape.

Using a straight rolling pin, roll out each round as thin as possible, about the size of a dinner plate.

Since each one is baked separately, it's best to get help from other members of your family: One person is responsible for rolling out the flat rounds; The baker will be responsible for placing them into the oven onto the steel (or stone), keeping a watch on them as they bake, turning them over when puffed up, and removing them; A third person is needed to cut them in half with a very sharp paring knife and stack them before toasting in the oven a second time (which can be done after all have been cut and stacked.)

The time it takes to bake your pane carasau depends on your oven. Obviously, in a 900 degree+ wood pizza oven, they will cook in less than a minute. In a 550 F oven with a baking steel, this might take 2-3 minutes. Using a baking stone, it might take a bit longer. This is the type of baking you need to keep a constant eye on, flipping over the ballooning breads briefly before removing them for cutting. I recommend studying how this is done in the video below.

Remove, brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh chopped rosemary and salt and return to the oven for a few minutes.

You know, I always thought I'd have a problem eating weird things if I ever traveled in the Orient. I'm a person with a fairly narrow palate... I admit it. Even my 14 year old, Lucas has a much broader palate than I do. I like what I like and won't try what I know I don't like. I'm old enough to say that I have tried lots of stuff--for instance, I hate caviar and cooked spinach makes me gag. I know what I can't stomach. In my research and travels about Italy, I've come across things that I wouldn't eat if you paid me. Some things I'll try--once--while others... well, you just sort of know to stay clear.

Still, we have to respect the culinary traditions of our Italian heritage and try not to be so grossed out by it. Food is fuel--fuel is food. In Italy, nothing goes to waste--not beast or flora. So, I hope you pardon me as I poke a little fun at some of Italy's oddest culinary creations--even though I may tease a bit, I still want to honor the complexities if la Cucina Italiana...

In ancient Rome peacock eggs, boiled ostrich and stewed parrots were common on menus.

Stuffed MiceThere is a protected, fluffy tailed species of dormice (Glis glis or Ghiro)that have been eaten since the days the Caesars ran things. Down in Calabria the rodents are still stuffed and chomped on. They are stuffed with meat, nuts, raisins, onions and spices. You can imagine little squeaks as you take a bite. I have no idea what they do with all those cute fluffy tails.

Ghiri alla pizzaiola :Ingredients :. 2 Ghires, 50 g of lard, 50g of pancetta, gr 600 gr peeled tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon of oregano, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of saltEngage the dormice lengthwise, peel them, quickly remove the bladder withoutbreaking it and leave it in running water for a few hours.Rinse them and blanch in boiling water for a couple of minutes.Chop the lard and the bacon and put the mince in the belly of the dormice.Place them in a large pan, pour the oil and cover with chopped tomatoes, parsley and minced garlic, oregano and salt.Cook over moderate heat, keeping the pan tightly closed with the lid.

Riccota Forte (or Scanta)The Pugliese are a resourceful bunch. I know--mu Dad was from Puglia. Many of you may know that ricotta means twice cooked or re-cooked... basically, ricotta is a by-product of normal, everyday cheese making. You take the little bit of whey left over, add an acid, boil it and presto, you have ricotta cheese. It's a fresh cheese and should be eaten within a couple of days. When it dries out, the frugal Pugliese add salt, and let it dry even more into Ricotta Salada (one of my favorite cheeses).

But some go even further. Some just let it go bad... and stinky... and acrid, turning it into a Apulian delicacy called Ricotta Forte, or Scanta. Many think this acrid, foul smelling cheese is worse than any other stinky cheese they've even eaten--but in a good way. We tried it during our stay in trullo B&B outside of Alberobello. Yes, it stinks, and our host told us how it's just kept in a dark, un-refrigerated place (under his sink) to grow more bacteria and even sometimes microscopic worms--but we actually liked it! (But it did burn my eyes a tad).

It's the kind of taste that shocks your eyes open, assaults your nose but somehow in the end pleases your palate. It's also a surprise when you are first introduced to it in a plain jar that looks like it's your Aunt's 1950s era home brew face cream.

Enjoy. (Oh, just don't get it on anything sweet... I got it on some Nutella and bread by mistake and nearly got whiplash when I popped it in my mouth.)

Casu Marzu or Formaggio Marcio(Rotten Cheese), with Maggots

Casu Marzu is a sheeps' milk cheese from Sardinia and Corsica (they call it Casgio Merzu) that actually contains maggots--live ones. Most cheeses rely on fermentation and bacteria to develop their flavor, but this cheese relies on actual decomposition caused by the Cheese Fly larvae. The texture is an oozing, seeping liquid, essentially caused by... well... maggot poop. Some people eat this stuff with the larvae, some will tickle the cheese, causing the larvae to be disturbed enough to actually jump out... as much as 6 inches! The daring who have tasted it say this muck is so acidic that it leaves an after taste in your mouth for hours afterward. I recall a cheese like this in France years ago--I wouldn't go near that either!

BatargaFrom what I hear, battarga is definitely an acquired taste that's at least a thousand years old and perhaps more ancient than that. It's made from the roe (fish egg) pouch of either grey mullet or Atlantic blue-fin tuna. The roe pouch is manipulated by hand to get rid of any air bubbles and then cured in sea salt for several weeks. After curing, the result is a hard, dried salty slab which is usually (but not always) coated in beeswax.

To use it, you grate some on top of pasta or on top of crostini (toasted bread) and drizzled with olive oil. It also can be used as a main ingredient along with garlic for tomato sauce. It has a tremendously long shelf life and is often smuggled out of Italy due to its high price--up to $140 a pound! You can actually order some on AMAZON.

Colatura di Alici, Fish Sauce In ancient Roman times there was a fishy concoction called garum, a clear sauce made from salting and compression of various types of fish. The clear garum on top was used by the upper classes, while the sludge left over, called allec, was used by the lower classes to add flavor to polenta, porridge or on bread.

Today there is a modern version called Colatura di Alici made in one of my favorite villages on the Amalfi Coast, Cetera (click the photo to see it on Amazon). The first time I took a tour of Cetera at ground level on Google Earth I started seeing barrels and wondered why this village had so many. It's a fairly simple recipe...

catch and select fresh anchovies

clean and pack in orderly rows in a wooden barrel

layer lots of sea salt over each layer of anchovies

add weight on top to compress the fish

forget about them for about 4 to 6 months (a year is better and worth more $$$)

Drill small hole in bottom of barrel and let drip, drip, drip the clear liquid into jars

The golden liquid is prized in Italy and is used to flavor all sorts of dishes. Watch the video of Colatura being made...

Polenta Uccelli(Polenta with Songbirds, or Polenta e Osei)Yes, the same song birds that will awaken you on a misty Tuscan morning are being shot or captured in hanging nets by hunters to supply their illegal bounty to select restaurants throughout Italy. Yes, it is illegal, but those doing it consider the practice as being furbo (crafty). They make a living while carrying on a tradition. In Tuscanythe birds are flambéed, in Sardinia they are boiled and preserved, in the Veneto rolled in pork belly and fried. Perhaps the best known version is in Lombardy where they are grilled or fried.

It seems this is an elite recipe item in Italy. Ladies and gents get dressed up in all their finery and make an event out of eating these little skylarks, goldfinches and other types of song birds. Our hot air balloon pilot, Stefano told us they shoot anything in Italy, especially song birds, so much so that some species are becoming endangered. Oddly, we flew directly over some "hunters" in their treetop blind, releasing pigeons only to shoot them a moment or two later.

The little tweetys are usually stuffed with pork, beef, rabbit or even other birds. They are served with their heads and beaks on top of polenta, an attempt to mimic a bird's nest.

To illustrate how much Italians love this special dish, certain pasticcerie have created a legal version: a dessert called Polenta e Osei, made to look just like the real dish. It's made of a soft light sponge cake filled with hazelnut cream that is rolled in a yellow fondant. On top are little chocolate birds made from chocolate marzipan. You can find this in the town of Bergamo.As for the real song bird dish, the macho thing is to pick up the birdie by the beak and leave nothing... devouring bones, beak and all. At least they are not as ruthless as a similar dish I saw in France years ago--where they drown the birds in the local brandy, then when eating drape a napkin over their heads and the dish to inhale the fragrances and crunch down on the bird, apparently head hidden in shame.

Pajata(Cheese from Cow's Intestines)This is either a Roman dish or what the Devil himself would order up. A young, milk fed (no grass feed) calf is slaughtered, and besides getting veal, brains and other delicacies from it, the intestines are used to make this delicacy--pajata. The intestines are washed, but not emptied. When cooked, the partially-digested milk inside turns into a thick, funky cheesy substance which is used as a pasta sauce, and often served on its own with crostata. No grazie!

Cieche(Baby eels)Cieche are baby eels that migrate upriver after being born in the sea. The name, Cieche (cieco) literally means blind – these babies have no eyes. In coastal areas of Tuscany, cieche are usually fried or boiled alive. Just be careful they don't jump out when you're trying to dump them into the boiling water or saute pan.

Tuscan Blood TorteEnough said. A torte or cake made from the blood of pigs? I've tried Argentinian blood sausage and British blood sausage, and if the flavor is anything close to what I experienced, I would never go near this stuff. But this recipe contains cocoa and has a chocolate taste, albeit a bit more... er... pungent because of the pig's blood it contains. The pudding used is similar to Sanguinaccio Dolce, a traditional recipe in the South made when a pig is slaughtered using the pig's blood, chocolate, raisins pignoli and sugar. This is an example of the Italian philosophy that nothing goes to waste, not even the last drops of blood.

Watch the video below from the Two Greedy Italians series where Gennaro shows how they make the pudding (at 9:45).

Sanguinaccio Dolce

Vending Machine PizzaAs all of the above proves, Italians will eat anything... even pizza made totally inside a robotic vending machine. Not THAT's a real crime!

Let's Pizza machines were initially designed and manufactured in Northern Italy. It offers a choice of four kinds of pies, and makes the pizza while you watch the whole process through windows--adding water to flour, kneading the dough, placing the sauce and toppings, and baking the pizza via infrared oven in just 2.5 minutes. It can produce 90 to 100 pizzas before it needs to be refilled. Ugh. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!

Ok, so vending machine pizza isn't such a big deal, but how about (suspenseful music...) Gatto in Umido? This translates as "Stewed Cat"!

Calmati, Betty White... "Gatto in Umido" is simply Stewed Cat-Fish.

As I said, we all have to keep an open mind. I hope you enjoyed this look into the traditions of culinary Italy.

There is evidence that wood-fired ovens similar to the ones used in Naples today were employed by the Ancient Greeks, and some assume that Greek mariners brought this technology with them to the city. Thanks to Vesuvius’ explosive eruption in 79 AD, we can turn to Pompeii for gustatory evidence. Archeologists have unearthed 33 domed clay ovens, complete with chimneys, on the grounds of Pompeii. We know that bread was an important part of the Pompeian diet. The very volcano that would eventually lead to Pompeii’s demise actually contributed to her rise as an early producer of baked goods.

The Greek geographer, philosopher and historian Strabo observed that the area around Pompeii and Naples as a result of the soil’s volcanic fecundity, was “the most blessed of all plains, and round about it lie fruitful hills.” It turns out the slopes of Vesuvius were ideal for the growth of cereal grains, and that bread was to become a symbol of Pompeii. An engraving on the entrance to the walled town reads matter-of-factly, “Traveler, you enjoy bread at Pompeii.”

The process of grinding the grain to make the bread was arduous. However, the volcanic black lava rock of the region was ideal for shaping tools to grind the local cereals. The practice of crushing, grinding and pounding wheat through a mill was known as pistor and by 160 BC, as Cato documents, the tradesmen responsible for this grinding were known as pistore. When coupled with the ingenious design of the beehive clay oven with chimney, this gave rise to the baking of deceivingly simple, pliable, leavened breads called pinse, so named for the grinding and pounding required to produce them. The pinse would travel through the Roman Empire; years later, we would know its cousins as pissaladiere in Provence, pita in the Middle East and pizza in Naples.

Vesta

In the early days of bread baking in Pompeii, pistore worshiped the god Fornax, the ancient personification of the oven. It is from Fornax that we also derive the word forno (oven), as in forno a legna (wood oven). Every year on February 17, Pompeii’s guild of oven tenders celebrated Fornacalia, lighting and feeding fires in much the same way modern Neapolitans light fires in commemoration of Saint Anthony the Abbot’s day. Years later, Pompeii’s bakers would switch their pious devotions to the goddess Vesta, protector of the hearth – perhaps a testament to the reverence they harbored for the fire that fueled their precious ovens.

For all the early success Vesuvius afforded Pompeii’s vibrant grain economy, the volcano would eventually become the town’s undoing. But the traditions of the pistore live on today in the ancient vicolos and back alleys that thread through Naples’ historic center.

I make many types of pizza... Chicago deep dish, New York style, Neapolitan thin crust, traditional square Grandma's pizza and more. I will change up the flour I'm using depending on what type of crust I want to achieve. For most, I use a combination of all-purpose and bread flour in a ratio of about 1:3. But when I want a crispy, thin crust pizza--like we had throughout Italy--I use 100% Italian style "Tipo 00" flour. Tipo simply means "type". (Click the photo at right to see it on Amazon).

An ideal Italian pizza is thinner in the middle, with a rim that puffs up to afford a crust that gives a second experience to eating pizza. It's like having pizza with the toppings along with an airy, bubble filled bread around the edges. Both should be foldable, but the bottom of the crust should make a drum sound when flicked with your forefinger. Many Italians actually fold a 12" pizza in half, and then again into quarters to eat like a panino.

Flour designated as "00" is ideal for pizza for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it's very finely ground--almost like talcum powder. I can feel the grit of bread flour in between my fingers but "00" feels silky smooth. It also has a lower protein, and thus lower gluten content than other flours. There are even finer flours milled--"000" and "0000"--but these tend to be lower in gluten and thus are used more for cakes and pastry. But "00" flour has enough gluten support air bubbles in the dough, but not too much, which makes pizza dough much easier to handle. The rule is, the lower the protein, the lower the gluten, which means a dough that is much less elastic.

For instance, at the other end of the spectrum, if you tried to make a pizza dough using 100% whole wheat flour, you would have a difficult time keeping your dough stretched out flat. The higher gluten makes it so elastic it would keep shrinking back smaller. (The reason why wheat pizzas are usually a mix of wheat and bread or all-purpose flours.) Using "00" flour is a dream when making pizza dough... the stuff is so supple and smooth and easy to handle.

Take the pizza pictured above... I was able to make the center of the round paper thin while the crust was nice and thick. After baking, the center was stiff enough to hold out straight when held New York style--folded at the crust. But the perimeter crust was puffy and full of air, like a light focaccia.

Another pizza made with "00" flour - Heirloom yellow tomatoes

As for the pizza itself in this case... It was delicious. I made sure to keep the dough on the sticky side which adds to its tenderness. When shaping the pizza round on the board I simply dust the dough (and my hands) with only enough flour so I could handle it without sticking to my hands. I patted the middle very thin and used the heel of my palms to form a thick crust at the edges.

The sauce was simple: crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, basil, EVO and a tablespoon or so of sugar. The toppings were thin sliced provolone cheese, and thin-sliced Speck, a type of smoked prosciutto.

The next time you're thinking of making pizza at home, get a bag of "00" flour and give it a try. Handling such a soft, supple sough is almost an erotic experience. (I said "almost".)

Now, the Candy Corn Pizza shown below, I would recommend for a kid's party. The kids will get one giant "candy corn" slice each. It's actually a real pizza crust made with Alfredo sauce or ricotta (for the white) and cheddar cheese (for the yellow). You can brush the edges of the crust with a light tomato sauce to make the edges more red-orange if you'd like. In essence, this does qualify as a genuine pizza. The others? Not so much.

After the dough is ready, place pizza stone in center rack preheat oven to 515 F. Wait for it to reach temperature, then add 20 minutes before making your pizza.

Work your dough on a lightly floured surface into a large circle no larger than the width of your pizza stone. Transfer to a pizza peel covered with parchment paper. (An easy way to do this is dust the top of the round with flour, then fold the ends over into thirds. Lift gently, then place onto the parchment paper, quickly unfolding the shape back into a circle.)

Spread white sauce (or ricotta) evenly around the circle... leave a 1-2" space around the perimeter.

Spread the mozzarella around the center... then spread the cheddar cheese around the mozzarella creating a while halo or hub in the middle of the pizza, surrounded by the cheddar. If you want a three color effect, lightly brush the edges of the dough with tomato sauce.

Bake the pizza for 4 - 7 minutes (the time depends on your oven).

Remove from oven with a pizza peel, slide onto a serving platter, slice and serve. Save the real candy corn for the end of the meal!

I had a Double-Crust, Stuffed Pizza once... just once. I felt it was way overdone. Too stuffed. Too much dough. Way too much cheese. So, here's Pizza Rustica, or Double Crust Pizza. I think I achieved it. You be the judge.

Many will hear pizza rustica in and think of a pizzagaina, a holiday baked creation that uses eggs and ricotta cheese as the base for the filling baked in either a lasagna pan or a spring-form pan. Some people put in a dozen or more eggs into it! That is a cholesterol nightmare.

I like making my recipes hearty, but healthier (not that this version is diet food). It's just good, home made ingredients in a rustic form. Instead of what can be a couple of pounds of cold cuts (like many use in pizzagaina) I use cut up pieces of cold cut ham or some leftovers... shredded chicken, meatballs (home made) or cooked and crumbled sausage. So, call it Pizza Rustica or Double Crust Pizza or whatever... here it is...

for the Dough

This dough recipe is for one 12-14" pizza -- you need to double the dough recipe for a bottom and top crust. You can make two batches and set them to rise separately, or double the ingredients, making one large batch, but I recommend cutting the ball of dough exactly in half (by weight), re-rolling into balls, and setting them aside separately for the rise.

Yeast:1 -1/2 cups warm water (115 F)1 tablespoon instant or rapid rise yeast1 tablespoon sugarProof the yeast in a 2 cup measuring cup or something similar. Whisk together the water, sugar and yeast and let foam up for 5-10 minutes.

Dough(The following is for ONE 12-15 inch pizza round. Double the recipe for two dough rounds, or leave as is if you want to make two thinner crusts or a smaller double crust pizza.)2-1/2 – 2-3/4 cups Bread Flour (I use King Arthur)1 Teaspoon salt1 tablespoon sugar2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Put 1 cup flour along with salt and sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer.

Mix dry ingredients momentarily. Add yeast mixture and oil then mix on low speed for a minute or so.

Next add another cup of flour to the bowl and mix on low speed, scraping down the sides periodically as needed.

Then add another ½ cup of flour and mix… Depending on the humidity, the dough should be starting to hang onto the dough hook and separate from the bowl. If it looks very sticky and unformed, add a bit more flour until it starts to cling to the hook. Scraped the sides if needed. The finished dough looks sticky but forms a rough ball.

Turn out onto a floured work surface and fold over far end towards you and push with the heel of your hand away from you… then turn ¼ turn, then repeat… do this about 10-12 times. Add flour on top and to your hands while kneading to prevent sticking.

Tuck in the dough and make a ball shape. Place into a well-oiled bowl (cover with plastic wrap or a damp cotton kitchen towel) for rising—about 1 hour.

After one hour is up, push down the dough gently, cover and place into fridge for another hour.

The Filling

While your dough is rising, gather your ingredients for the filling together.

You can also add caramelized onions, lightly sautéed, sliced garlic (3-4 cloves) to the filling.

Crushed black pitted olives (just squish them between fingers) also work well in this filling.

This pizza recipe is a great way to use up leftovers.

Place your pizza stone on the top oven rack (I recommend a pizza steel for quicker baking and better browning)

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Assembling the Pizza

Take half the dough recipe (remember, you’ve made twice the amount above, one for the top, one for the bottom) and work it into a ball, then shape into a round pizza about 12-14” around. Lightly flour the ball and your hands as you work.

Place this onto a wood or metal pizza peel covered with parchment paper (the paper stays under the pizza as you slide it onto your pizza stone).

Spread some pizza sauce—about ½ cup on the bottom of the first round of dough (you can use jarred or your our recipe). Don’t put any sauce on the last 1” or so of the perimeter, and keep this area free of fillings too.

Now layer on your fillings… meats first, olives, then onions, etc… top it off with the cheese. Retain some cheese for sprinkling across the top crust. Think “stuffed” but not “over-stuffed”.

You can drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the ingredients and sprinkle with oregano or basil.

Shape the second round of dough to the same size. Lay it over the top of the bottom crust and pinch together top and bottom edges, and fold the dough as you would an apple pie. Make sure your pinching is melding the two halves together.

When done, put several small knife cuts around the center of the pizza for steam to escape.

Top off with some of the cheese and perhaps a sprinkling of grated Romano or Parmesan, then some oregano.

Slide the pizza off the peel onto your pizza stone in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until both the bottom and top crusts are well browned.

Check the pizza as it gets near the end of baking. Lift the bottom with a metal spatula to see if the bottom crust is brown. Make sure the top crust is browning equally. If not, you might have to put the oven onto broil for the last minute or two of baking to finish off the top.

If the pizza isn’t browning enough on the bottom, increase the baking time a minute or two at a time. (All ovens are different).

If the top is browning too fast (compared to the bottom), cover with foil for the rest of the baking time.

Baking a double crust pie like this is tricky, so you have to use your own judgment depending on the way your oven browns the crust.

Let this pizza cool down for at least 10-15 minutes before cutting slices. Serve with a green salad and nice bottle of Primativo. If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and let me know how it turned out!

Buon appetito!

--Jerry Finzi

If you want to see my recipe for the holiday favorite, Pizzagaina (aka, pizza rustica), CLICK THE PHOTO...

Have a party to plan for? How about making a bunch of Pizzette--tiny pizzas? They are simple to prepare. Just use any pizza dough recipe, use a round cookie cutter (or a glass) to cut out the small rounds, top with sauce and other favorite toppings (make a lot plain and pepperoni for the kids) and pop them in the oven on large, dark colored sheet pans oiled with light olive oil. Keep a little space between each one.Bake in a preheated 475F oven for 5-7 minutes, or until both the top and bottoms are done.

These little pizzas holdover well. You can make quite a large batch (for a school or church event, for example) and they can even be served Italian style, at room temperature.

Looking for something different for our Saturday Night Pizza, I thought... "Hold the Sauce!" I'll make a white pizza for Lisa and Lucas--"Grandma style" in my large, square, dark pan, cut into square slices.

I lightly drizzled Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the crust, laid out slices of a Yellow Pineapple and Yellow Plum Roma heirloom tomatoes, spread some shredded Fontina and crushed black olives over the top and dusted with fresh, chopped oregano from our spice garden. Another drizzle of EVO and into the oven!

It was amazing. The only thing I would change is NOT drizzling olive oil under the tomatoes. It made them slide a bit when taking bites. I'd put the cheese on the bottom.

La Cucina

Cucina--the Kitchen: Here is where you will find classic Italian recipes, our own family recipes, and stories about the history, techniques, tools and ingredients used in Italian cuisine. We will also include articles that will help you shop and cook in Italy. We are currently re-building our pages, so bear with us. If you can't find a recipe here, use the search (Ricerca) box and you will find what you need. Ciao.